This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes

Can we please admire how beautiful this book is? Just for a moment. IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL. IT’S MAGNIFICENT. Okay. Now that I got that out of my system. Let’s move on, shall we?

A book that completely took me by surprise. I feel like I should start off by saying I am not a huge Sci-Fi fan. I mean if I have read 1 maybe 2 Sci-Fi books I’d be surprised but let me tell you that I really, really liked Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. A book about an interstellar war, a deadly virus, some space ships, artificial intelligence and a break up. I know what you may be thinking that sounds like chaos right? if I’m being honest that’s exactly what it is but it’s a chaos you will not want to stop reading.

This book is so unique. This story is told through documents, emails, IMS, transcripts and many other unusual but very creative recollection of events. It is truly a work of art. From the moment I set my eyes on this book I was captivated. I have to admit it does take a little while to get used to the way this story is told. Like for me the first 100 pages it’s all about getting used to the way this book is structured and organized. Because it is truly something I have never seen before. I have to say I did read this book pretty quickly and I do think it’s an easy read but beware don’t fly through this. Pay attention to details and the little things in the page. TRUST ME, it’s so well thought out that you will not want to miss a thing.

Plot wise this book was amazing. It has a little bit of everything and the story itself is just incredible. I loved the whole war between the biggest corporations and I loved the chaos in all of it. This book has tension, action, humor, romance, friendship and many other amazing things. And it still blows my mind how a love story was included into so much plot and chaos but I have to admit I found myself enjoying it.

Now let me tell you a little about the characters. I liked them. What’s really interesting is that we are not reading from any of their points of view or reading their thoughts, we get to know them and understand them by reading their conversations, what they do and their reactions. To me that was pretty freaking fantastic. So yeah, I know a lot of people think you may lose like bits and pieces of their personality and I understand but I didn’t really mind. I did have problem visualizing and understanding some of the things that happened, Hence the 4.5

And last but not least, I have to confess that this whole smart computer, artificial intelligence stuff scares the living *beep* out of me. And still I want to understand how Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff made me feel so emotionally invested in a I quote “Artificial Intelligence Defense Analytics Network”. Its bizarre.

I could be here all day talking about this book but I wont so let me just say that I recommend this book. I think people should give it a try to read this amazing book even if it’s just to experience it. This book came out yesterday guys so go pick up a copy at your nearest bookstore or order it online. Just pick this book up.

About Amie Kaufman

Amie Kaufman is a New York Times bestselling author of young adult fiction. Her work has been published in fifteen countries, won the Aurealis Award for Best YA Novel, been named the Huffington Post’s best YA novel of the year, shortlisted for the Gold Inky Award and is in development for TV. Her first series, co-authored with Meagan Spooner, began with These Broken Stars, and her new series, co-authored with Jay Kristoff, will start this October with Illuminae. Raised in Australia and Ireland, Amie has degrees in history, literature, law and conflict resolution. She lives in Melbourne with her husband, their rescue dog, and an extremely large personal library.

About Jay Kristoff

Jay Kristoff is a tragic nerd, but has spent the last ten years dumping expeez into his Intimidation stat, with the result that nobody is brave enough to say it to his face. He grew up in the second most isolated capital city on earth and fled at his earliest convenience, although he’s been known to trek back for weddings of the particularly nice and funerals of the particularly wealthy. He spent most of his formative years locked in his bedroom with piles of books, or gathered around dimly-lit tables rolling polyhedral dice. Being the holder of an Arts degree, he has no education to speak of.

His first trilogy, THE LOTUS WAR, is set to be published in over a dozen countries. The first installment, STORMDANCER, was critically acclaimed in Kirkus and Publishers Weekly, shortlisted for the Aurealis Award, and nominated for the David Gemmell Morningstar and Legend awards. The Lotus War novella THE LAST STORMDANCER won the 2014 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Short Fiction. Jay’s new series, the SciFi thriller ILLUMINAE, which he co-authored with Amie Kaufman, is due for publication by Random House in October 2015. A new fantasy series, THE NEVERNIGHT CHRONICLE, commences with book 1, NEVERNIGHT, from St Martins Press/Thomas Dunne Books in 2016. He is as surprised about all this as you are. He is represented by Matt Bialer and Lindsay Ribar at Sanford J Greenburger Associates.

Jay is 6’7 and has approximately 13380 days to live. He abides in Melbourne with his secret agent kung-fu assassin wife, and the world’s laziest Jack Russell.

Hi Gaby! I was hesitant to pick this up because of all the hype but now I’m “head desk”-ing myself !!!! Yes, that cover and jacket are absolutely amazing – so much detail, I love it! Great review and I’m glad you’re liking sci-fi. I love sci-fi, myself 🙂

“Am I not merciful?”
YES GABY. YES. I completely agree with everything you’ve said here. This was such an amazing book. Kady was an amazing and kickass lead, Ezra was a hilarious love interest, and the twists and turns at the end were just pheonominal. So glad you felt the same way! ♥ Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous review! xD